North Austin, Texas, USA - Katherine Yarbrough, 52, was charged last Thursday with murder for allegedly killing her husband, 62-year-old Lloyd Yarbrough, by injecting an overdose of prescription pills through his feeding tube. As reported in the Austin American-Statesman (May 29), it is believed that Ms Yarbrough killed her husband, who was unable to move or feed himself because of viral encephalitis, which involves swelling of the brain and nerve damage, because "she had grown exhausted from caring for him for years." Mr Yarbrough had been in that condition for two years. According to the article:
Although investigators initially believed that Lloyd Yarbrough's death was from natural causes and that Katherine Yarbrough tried to kill herself afterward out of grief, Katherine Yarbrough made comments to investigators that made them think a crime had been committed, the affidavit said.
Sgt. Joseph Chacon of the Austin Police Department said Katherine Yarbrough's goal was to kill her husband and herself with the pills.
According to the article, police found Ms Yarbrough and her husband in their home last Wednesday after a home-healthcare agency reported that they had not heard from the them. The couple were taken to a hospital, where Mr Yarbrough died. After she was revived, Ms Yarbrough began suggesting that she killed her husband, said a Travis County seriff's spokesman, who described Mr Yarbrough as requiring 24-hour care from his wife and the healthcare company.
Ms Yarbrough was in the Travis County Jail on Friday with bail set at $20,000. She faces life in prison if convicted.
